


Kayaba's Purpose

by Raptorclaw



Category: Sword Art Online (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Better Than Canon, One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-07
Updated: 2021-02-07
Packaged: 2021-03-12 07:48:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 750
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29256978
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Raptorclaw/pseuds/Raptorclaw
Summary: I didn't really care for the ending of SAO's Aincrad Arc.So I made my own version and made it better.Kayaba actually has a reason for doing what he did this time.Also, in this timeline, Kirito isn't such a Gary Stu that he can save Yui's information into the form of an item in only a few seconds when Cardinal is trying to delete her.
Relationships: Kirigaya Kazuto | Kirito/Yuuki Asuna | Asuna
Comments: 1
Kudos: 6





	Kayaba's Purpose

Kirito and Asuna stood, side by side, watching Aincrad crumble below. A little distance away, Akihiko Kayaba also stood, watching the death of his masterpiece. After several long moments, Kirito finally spoke.

“...why? Why did you do this?”

For another long moment, Kayaba was silent. Kirito couldn’t tell what was going on in the man’s mind. His face was regretful, even sad, but he still had a spark of something within him, even if he couldn’t figure out what it was. At last, Kayaba spoke.

“Ever since I was a boy, I’ve wondered what it really means to be human. I’ve always longed to delve into the human soul, to find what lost secrets lurked there. Then, in my dreams, I started to see a floating castle. I never knew where it came from, but I knew that I wanted more than anything to explore it. Once I invented the Nerve Gear, that was my chance to create a world where I could freely explore the depths of that castle, the human mind, and test the limits of reality.”

“And so you created SAO,” Kirito concluded.

“Indeed. You know of my background before I invented the NerveGear?”

“You were a prodigy from a poor family. Everyone said you were a genius after you skipped three grades.”

“Everyone always throws around those kinds of terms,” Kayaba said bitterly. “Genius, prodigy. What I am is cursed. Cursed to see too far, cursed with knowledge, cursed to bear the burden of knowing what all our science and progress has brought us to. People are more interested in worthless money and power than real memories and experiences. We have lost sight of a part of what makes us human.”

“So you wanted to teach people a lesson?” Asuna demanded.

“That’s a rude way of putting it,” Kayaba told them, finally turning away from the sight of the empty sky where Aincrad once floated to look the young couple in their faces. “What I wanted was to show people how self-destructive their current path is. We put blind trust in people who do not deserve it, we take things that are not ours and destroy them for profit, and we give up our lives for things that are not real. Here in Aincrad, I could show the entire world just how far the human race has fallen.”

Kayaba turned his gaze back to the horizon. “And look at what happened. The weak were left to die, while the strong gave into their most primal instincts and took whatever they wanted from them. You both were on the assault team, and you’d taken many trips around Aincrad’s many floors. Tell me I’m wrong.”

Kirito and Asuna were silent. Finally, Kirito replied, “That doesn’t mean that people aren’t worth saving.”

Kayaba finally allowed the slightest hint of a smile cross his face. “And now you’ve touched on the final purpose of my experiment: the heroes. No matter what disaster may strike, there will always be those who seek to preserve the rest of humanity. My goal was to find these kinds of people and observe them, to see just how strong they are and how far they are willing to go to protect their loved ones.”

Kayaba turned back to them, and he was smiling. “You have my thanks, Kirito, Asuna. In fighting not just for those trapped, but for the sake of your love for each other, you were even able to overcome the system itself. You have shown me and many others just how strong the mind is. Indeed, you have shown me what it means to be human. Now I can finally rest, and you can have your reward.”

Kayaba held up one opened hand, and in the space above it appeared a tiny, teardrop-shaped crystal, clear as glass and bright as a star. The hand fell away, and the figure of a small girl phased into existence around it.

“Mommy! Daddy!”

“Yui!” both Kirito and Asuna cried at once, rushing forward to embrace the little AI girl.

“I managed to save her data before she was deleted by Cardinal,” Kayaba explained. “When this place vanishes, she will be saved on the hard drive in Kirito’s NerveGear.”

Kirito wiped away his tears with the back of his hand. “I never thought I’d say this after I learned this wasn’t a game, but...thank you, Akihiko Kayaba.”

“You’re very welcome, Kirito, Asuna. Take care, and farewell.” With these parting words, Kayaba’s form faded and vanished.

**Author's Note:**

> I really needed to get this off my chest. The more I watch SAO, the more holes I see in it. I figured I might as well address at least this part and actually give the Aincrad Arc meaning rather than it just being the whim of a genius programmer. I could do more, but I'm lazy and I don't really care to rewrite the entire story, though I might be tempted to do so if this gets a crazy number of views or something.


End file.
